Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, Oct 13: Following the arrest of several Bangladeshi nationals in Udupi, based on information provided by Mohammed Manik, a Bangladeshi caught at Mangaluru International Airport attempting to fly to Dubai on an Indian passport, Mangaluru police have heightened security.

Police are closely monitoring suspicious individuals and plan to conduct operations in the coming days. Employers who hire migrant labourers from other states are being urged to verify documents properly. Authorities warned that legal action will be taken against employers found hiring illegal migrants.

Although there have long been suspicions of Bangladeshi labourers working in the twin districts, no arrests had been made due to insufficient evidence. Migrant labourers, primarily from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal, work in Dakshina Kannada’s construction, fishing, sand transportation, and industrial sectors, performing jobs that were previously done by locals or people from North Karnataka.

Most migrant workers possess Aadhar cards from their respective states, but verifying the authenticity of these documents remains a challenge for employers. Middlemen are believed to facilitate the acquisition of Aadhar cards for these labourers, complicating the identification of Bangladeshi nationals.

In 2022, over 4,000 migrant labourers working in Mangaluru were questioned by police as part of a data-gathering exercise. Despite interrogating 518 suspected labourers, no Bangladeshi citizens were identified at the time.

Mohammed Manik was caught when immigration officers became suspicious of his broken Hindi, which he had learned after arriving in India. Under intense questioning, he confessed to obtaining an Indian passport.